Tim Banks is the CEO of APM, a Canada wide construction and property development company, with its head office in Charlottetown, PEI. My family has lived on PEI for over eight generations and I was born at the Prince County Hospital in Summerside, PEI. I am hoping someone will soon develop a blood test to authenticate when you actually become an "Islander" as I am still having problems explaining where I'm from?

Sunday, August 3, 2008

The ads were great but the service lousy and anyone who ever called them for service got to talk to Emily and here's what one customer had to say in response to this story,

Hi, This is Emily, how can I help you?HI EMILY, I HEARD THE BEAVERS ARE FIRED?I am sorry, did you say "Billing"NO!!! STUPID, I HATE YOU!!!! EMILY.I think the "BELL" has rung for this company and they are getting their ass kicked by their competitors who are providing better service at a lower price. It's time they answered their phones... don't be surprised when you see their sister company Aliant being scaled down as well...Bell's beavers bite itFriday, August 1, 2008By Peter Nowak CBC NewsAfter cutting a good portion of its middle management, Bell Canada has sent two more employees to the unemployment line: Frank and Gordon.Montreal-based Bell Canada Inc. is axing the beavers as its mascots and spokesanimals as of Friday. The company made the announcement in full-page newspaper ads across the country."It's been a blast," the ads read. "Nature is calling and we have been invited back to the forest to become teachers for a whole new generation of spokecritters."The decision to get rid of the animals — one of the more divisive ad campaigns in Canadian marketing history — is a symbolic statement by the company that it is under new management, Bell spokesman Mark Langton said."It was time for a change. The beavers have served us well, they were very well known and quite popular…. But it's time to move on."The beavers, originally launched by the Cossette Communication Group in Quebec in 2005 as Jules and Bertrand, expanded nationally as Frank and Gordon a year later. They drew high marks in surveys by ad tracking firm Léger Marketing for awareness and likeability, but were equally reviled in the same surveys.Bell on Monday announced it was cutting 2,500 middle-management positions, or about six per cent of its total workforce, in an effort to shake up and streamline its operations. The move is expected to save the company $300 million, Bell said.